Patients undergoing a gynecologic, urologic or laparoscopic procedure must generally be properly positioned in order for the physician to carry out the procedure with maximum benefit. Properly positioning a patient for such a procedure typically requires that the patient lay in the supine position, with their knees raised up to varying degrees. This is known as the lithotomy position.
During the gynecologic, urologic or laparoscopic procedure, it is common for the lower legs of the patient to be supported in the desired position by a pair of leg stirrups.
Leg stirrups of the kind typically used for gynecologic, urologic or laparoscopic procedures are well known in the art. Such leg stirrups typically comprise an adjustable attachment mechanism at the proximal end of the stirrup which is configured to attach the stirrup to a surgical table, a support member extending distally away from the attachment mechanism (generally along the line of the patient's leg), and a padded “boot” section, configured to partially surround the calves and feet of a patient, slidably mounted to the support member so as to provide a comfortable contact or support surface for the patient's calves and heel. This padded boot section also serves to reduce or eliminate pressure on various nerves in the patient's leg, thereby further increasing patient comfort.
As noted above, a patient undergoing a gynecologic, urologic and/or laparoscopic procedure is typically put in the lithotomy position, with knees raised up to varying degrees. During the course of the procedure, it may be expedient or necessary for the physician to alter the position or orientation of the patient's leg(s). Such alteration requires the adjustment of the adjustable attachment mechanism located at the proximal end of the leg stirrup(s) proximate the patient's hip joint(s).
Early versions of such leg stirrups required the physician to adjust the position of the leg stirrups by direct manipulation of the adjustable attachment mechanism, which is located at the proximal end of the leg stirrup and hence quite close to the procedure site (e.g., in and around the patient's pelvic area). However, the adjustment of the leg stirrup at that location can be inconvenient for the physician, since the physician is typically located at the distal end of the leg stirrup. Accordingly, more recent versions of leg stirrups allow for the adjustment of the position of the leg stirrup by providing means at the distal end of the leg stirrup to manipulate the position of the leg stirrup.
These more recent versions of leg stirrups are still deficient, however, inasmuch as they fail to provide a full range of motion or adjustment for the patient's limb. For example, in some recent versions of leg stirrups, the stirrups may be adjusted only in the lithotomy (i.e., up and down) and abduction/adduction (i.e., side-to-side) directions, but do not allow adjustment in the supination/pronation direction. Also, the means to effect position adjustments on existing leg stirrups can be cumbersome to manipulate.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved leg stirrup assembly wherein the position of the leg stirrup assembly may be easily adjusted at the distal end of the leg stirrup, and wherein the leg stirrup assembly may be moved in three distinct axes of rotation (i.e., lithotomy, abduction/adduction and supination/pronation), in a manner more like the natural motion of the human hip joint.